 | |
| Author | Lana Turner |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | Lana Turner |
| Genre | Memoir |
| Publisher | Dutton |
Publication date | September 1, 1982 [1] |
| Pages | 311 (first edition) |
| ISBN | 0-525-24106-X |
Lana: The Lady, the Legend, the Truth is a 1982 memoir by the American actress Lana Turner, published by Dutton. In it, Turner recalls her early life, her rise to stardom and personal troubles over the course of her career. [2]
Turner recounts her early life growing up in Wallace, Idaho, and San Francisco, followed by her discover at age 16 in Hollywood by William R. Wilkerson. She recalls various anecdotes and personal experiences as a rising star for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, as well as her numerous romances, marriages and miscarriages. She also narrates the 1958 killing of Johnny Stompanato by her daughter, Cheryl Crane, during a domestic struggle, followed by her later career in film and television.
Wayne Lawson of The New York Times wrote of the book,
As these books go, Lana is pretty bad, in fact often bad enough to be good. For example, she says of her most recent husband: "His name was Ronald Dante - and still is, I suppose. His real name was Ronald Pellar, and he called himself a doctor, although of what I'm not exactly sure." Now, is that supposed to be funny? Sarcastic? Ingenuous? All of these? None of these? Who can tell? Miss Turner is not solely at fault for this dreadfully written book; in the last paragraph she declares that it is a collaborative effort, and the copyright is held by Eltee Productions and Hollis Alpert, the film critic and editor. However, in the last sentence she insists on taking full responsibility for her life and her book. So be it. [2]
The New York Times's Janet Maslin noted, "Lana Turner, though she isn't reflective or articulate even by movie star standards, has led a life that's a soap opera daydream. And she's got a one-of-a-kind Hollywood story to tell." [3] Kirkus Reviews praised the book, writing, "Lana tells it all unpretentiously, unweepily; and the result--with nice little attacks along the way on Richard Burton, Ezio Pinza, Otto Preminger, Harold Robbins et al.--is a good old-fashioned celeb memoir, popcorn with spice, unashamedly Hollywood." [1]
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Lana Turner was an American actress who worked in film, television, theater and radio. Over the course of her nearly 50-year career, she achieved fame as both a pin-up model and a dramatic actress, as well as for her highly publicized personal life. In the mid-1940s, she was one of the highest-paid women in the United States, and one of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's (MGM) biggest stars, with her films earning the studio more than $50 million during her 18-year contract with them. She is frequently cited as a popular culture icon of Hollywood glamour.
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Cheryl Christina Crane is an American retired real estate broker, former model, and author. She is the only child of actress Lana Turner, from her marriage to actor-turned-restaurateur Steve Crane, her second husband. She was the subject of significant media attention in 1958 when, at fourteen years old, she stabbed to death her mother's lover, Johnny Stompanato, during a domestic struggle; she escaped charges, and his death was deemed a justifiable homicide.
John Stompanato Jr., was a United States Marine who became a bodyguard and enforcer for gangster Mickey Cohen and the Cohen crime family.
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Lana Turner (1921–1995) was an American actress who appeared in over fifty films during her career, which spanned four decades. Discovered in 1937 at age 16, she signed a contract with Warner Bros. but soon transferred to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The studio's co-founder, Louis B. Mayer, helped further her career by casting her in several youth-oriented comedies and musicals, including Dancing Co-Ed (1939) and Ziegfeld Girl (1941), the latter of which was a commercial success and helped establish her as one of the studio's leading performers. Turner subsequently co-starred with Clark Gable in the drama Somewhere I'll Find You (1943), the first of four films she would appear in with him.
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Detour: A Hollywood Story is a 1988 memoir by Cheryl Crane, the only daughter of actress Lana Turner, with additional writing from Cliff Jahr. In the book, she recounts her early life, including her alleged sexual abuse by her stepfather Lex Barker, and the 1958 killing of Johnny Stompanato during a domestic struggle. She also details her coming out as a lesbian to her parents as a teenager, a fact that had not been publicly disclosed prior. The book went on to become a New York Times Best Seller.
On the evening of April 4, 1958, 14-year-old Cheryl Crane stabbed 32-year-old Johnny Stompanato, the boyfriend of her mother, actress Lana Turner, at Turner's rented home in Beverly Hills, California, United States. Stompanato, an ex-Marine and affiliate of the Cohen crime family, had been in a year-long relationship with Turner which had been rocky and marked with physical abuse.
